Moringa is a miracle tree. Each part — leaves, fruit, flowers and roots — is edible and has been used for generations. It is deemed as a superfood.

The flowers have such a delicate and soft texture, but once cooked, it takes a deeper robust flavour, similar to the taste of mushrooms. As with any edible flowers, remove the stamen and the pistil before cooking. You must soak them in a bowl of water to remove any insects (since it is a major source of nectar) and dirt from the flower.

Most people have a moringa tree in their backyard, from where you can get the flowers. Or simply ask the vegetable vendor that sells the leaves to procure some flowers. Look for younger, tender flowers, and as always, make sure they haven’t been sprayed with chemical fertilizers and pesticides. The flowers should smell fresh.

As awareness grows of the food we eat, we can inform our choices of what’s nutritionally meaningful with what’s available locally. Yes it’s true, we do have local alternatives to matcha, quinoa, and more – AND they’re superfoods. Read 10 Indian Alternatives to International Superfoods by Kumud Dadlani (published in Conde Nast Traveller) to learn about moringa, amaranth, and more of our local hidden treasures.

‘Nother fabulous season – thank you all! 7 weeks and nearly 6000 kgs of mango fed to the city! Close to another 1000 kg shared locally in our village, including the birds, critters, and bacteria claiming their share. Highlights of our season…
– The land fed us more mango and variety than ever before (oh the secrets the trees hold).
– We met some amazing people. You shared our mangoes with your friends (and gave us so much Insta love), that brought more mango to more people.
– We reached nearly every corner of the city (and several others), with the mango, despite our uber small team.
– Kitchens, Cafes, Restaurants served up some super fun mango dishes (often leaving us jonsing for a taste).
– A farm visit saw folks gather and feast on the mango at source.
– Hands continue to come out of nowhere to help us.
– Spreading the sweetness at the betterfoods farmers’ market.
– At distribution, one of the most fulfilling parts of the season, while his friends were asking for raincoats, one bright lad with a mango grin said, “Didi tution dilva do” (so a side shout out – anyone educating street kids in south Bombay?)
– And finally, while buying mango, you’ll even contributed to our fund raiser to kick start an organicfarm for an Adivasi farmer in our village.
Thanks for making this so much more than just a mango season.
While that’s a wrap for our fresh mango, we’ve got mango thins, aamrass, herbal teas, preserves, and other awesome produce we grow year-round.#mangodiaries#vrindavanfarm

The zen garden – our experimental patch. Here we experiment with new crops, heirloom variety, companionship, and build our seed bank for tomorrow’s meal. Each monsoon, this patch is left to rest… and as the skies dry, our work commences. Here’s a peak with its residents.